New in City Journal: Let's Fix Our Federal Holiday Schedule

I recently became an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute. The flagship journal of MI is City Journal, where I will contribute on a regular basis. For my inaugural essay, I decided to do something totally different, that is only tangentially about the law.

I have long had problems with how the calendar of holidays is structured. These holidays were not organized in a single plan, but instead were added in a piecemeal fashion over the years. Professionally, I see the difficulties of optimizing the law school academic calendar. I usually teach on Mondays. As a result, there is a gap for both the fall and spring semesters with Labor Day and MLK Day, respectively, which requires making up a class at an irregular time. Some years ago, I tried to move Labor Day till later in the semester to give students another reading day before exam; my motion failed. And, as a parent, I am repeatedly frustrated with how many days my kids have off from school. It is an abomination to hold back-to-back half days–all the frustration of getting kids ready in the morning, only to have to pick them up a few hours later. Anyway, calendars could improve. And one way to start is by realigning the holidays.

My essay is titled, Let’s Fix Our Federal Holiday Schedule.

Here is the introduction:

At present, the United States has 11 federal holidays, accumulated over the course of two and a half centuries. Some of the current dates make sense; others don’t. As a whole, these national holidays create complexities for Americans’ school, work, and vacation calendars. We should rearrange this lineup.

Three principles guide this endeavor. First, it must be bipartisan. For better or worse, some holidays have become more associated with the Left and others with the Right. Reform will require give and take from both sides.

Second, the holidays should make it easier to establish regular schedules in schools and workplaces. One holiday in close proximity to another disrupts continuity.

Third, under the current calendar, several months have no holidays while other months have several. As any school child will tell you, it’s not fair that six holidays are crammed together in the cold months, while only one holiday is in spring. As any school administrator will confide, Labor Day and MLK Day both make scheduling classes difficult. The holidays should be spaced out more evenly.

A few adjustments could create a calendar that garners bipartisan support, simplifies scheduling, and spaces out time for reflection and relaxation.

And here is where I ultimately wind up:

The resultant calendar: New Year’s Day on January 1; Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the first Monday in February; President’s Day on the first Monday in March; Labor Day on the first Monday in May; Memorial Day on the last Monday in May; Juneteenth on June 19; Independence Day on July 4; Constitution Day on September 17; Veterans Day on the third Monday in October; Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas on December 25.

This plan checks all the boxes.

As is the case with many of my writings, the purpose here is to stimulate discussion. I’m sure there are other, better proposals. If you think of something, please drop me a line!

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